Hat blocker



Aug. 18, 1931. R. G. MULLER HAT BLOCKER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 27. 1929 ma y vV 0 mnfiw G. A 1m? 7% M M y Aug. 18, 1931. R. G. MULLER 1,819,256

HAT BLOCKER Filed Feb. 27, 1929 s Sheets-Sheet 2 imit 3 INVENTOR. Ruofoufi IY/ZZer,

WYQZM ATTORNEY A 18, 1931. R. G. MULLER 1,819,256

HAT BLOCKER Filed Feb. 27, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Aug. 18, 1931 Parser oFFice UNITED stares HAT BLOOKER.

Application filed February 27, 1929. Serial No. 343,049. g

This invention relates generally to improvements inlhat blocking machines; and the invention has reference, more particularly, to a novel machine for drawing hat bodies over hat blocks as a step in the process of shaping and finishing felt hats.

In the process of manufacturing and finishing felt hats, asheretofore usually carried on, the unfinished hat body, after the same has been felted andshaped, is turned over to an operator known as a finisher. The work of the finisher consists in drawing the unshaped hat body over a wooden or other form of the size and shape it is desired that the finished hat shall possess. This work has usually'been performed by the finisher by hand, and is a somewhat arduous and time consuming operation. In such hand operation, the finisher places the hat body over the selected block,and then, by main strength,

pulls and stretches the hat body until the same is firmly and entirely mounted smoothly and tightly over the block. To assist the operation the felted hatbody is softened from 2'5 time to time by the application of steam to aid in stretching the material over the block. In such hand operation considerable care must be exercised to avoid uneven stretching of the hat body, as Weil as s'eeingto it that the felted material'is smoothly and firmly seated at all points about the area of the hat block, to the end tl at the crown of the finished hat is properly and uniformly shaped without-weak spots or areas, or without breaking down the felted fibers or otherwise blemishing the work. The finisher must, tl ere fore, possess no inconslderable skill, and even then the output capacity'of a single operator in a given time is comparatively small.

' It is the principal object of thisinvention to provide a machine which eliminates the arduous labor involved in hand finishing operations, while at the same time enabling these operations to be carried on by comparatively time more particularly enumerated, will be clearly understood from'the following detailed description of the same.

- The invention isclearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which I Fig. 1- is a plan view of the novel hat blocking machine made according to and embodying the principles of this invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, drawn on a reduced scale; and Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal vertical section of the same, also drawn on a reduced scale.

Similar characters ofreference are employed in all of the hereinabove described views, to indicate corresponding parts.

Referring now to said drawings, the reference character 5 indicates spaced side frames of the machine between which is secured the horizontally disposed bedplate 6, which is positioned intermediate theupper and lowor ends of said side frames. Secured to'said side frames to extend upwardly from said bed-plate at the forward end of themachine, is a front plate or panel 7 and, at the rear of the machine, a back plate or panel 8, thus providing at the upper end of the machine anenclosed chamber or compartment.

Extending laterally and horizontally between the lower ends of said side frames 5 is a bridge plate 9, on which is centrally fixed a supportingcollar 10 in which is secured an upwardly extending central post or column 11. Said post or c-olumnll extends upwardly through the bed-plate 6, and through an upwardly extending sleeve 12 which is fixed on said bed-plate 6. Secured on and supported by the upper end of said post or column 11,"above said sleeve 12, is the bottom plate 13 of a steaming chamber 14 formed by side walls 15. Supported at the upper open end of said steaming chamber is a top ring 16,

Fitted in the line of said steam supply pipe 21 is a control valve 22, having a trip lever 23.

Surrounding said steaming chamber 14 are a plurality of adjustable gripping and stretching devices which are radially arranged. Preferably these devices are disposed in relatively closely spaced relation so as to obtain a maximum number of gripping points relative to the periphery of the hat body operated upon.

The said gripping and stretching devices comprise the following mechanism. Secured to the frame work of the machine, in spaced relation to and above the bed-plate 6, is a horizontally disposed supporting plate 24 having acentral opening through which the gripping and stretching devices extend. Secured to said supporting plate 24, to extend aroundthe margins of its central opening, are a plurality of bifurcated fulcrum brackets 25. Pivotally mounted between the arms of each fulcrum bracket 25 is a bell-crank lever 26, having an upwardly extending arm 27 and a downwardly and inwardly extending arm 28. Formed on the upper end of each of said arms 27 is a fixed gripping jaw 29, at the heel of which is'an outwardly projecting guide loop or sleeve 30. Vertically slidablevon the sleeve 12 is a movable hub 31, formed to provide an annular peripheral channel or socket 32, in which the free ends of the arms 28 are engaged so as to be oscillated, when said hub is moved up and down. Arranged beneath said supporting plate 24, concentric to said hub 31, is a' lift ring 33. Said lift ring is provided with fulcrum pieces 34, to which are pivoted the lower ends of clamp-bars 35. A clamp bar 35 is associated with each bell-crank lever 26 in such manner that the upper end of the former extends slidably through the guide loop or sleeve 30 of the latter. Fixed on the upper free end of each clamp bar is an upper releasable gripping jaw 36.

The said gripping and stretching devices are movable toward and fzom the steaming chamber 14 and sizing ring-18 carried thereby, and means to produce such movement is provided, in connection with which means is alsoprovided to adjusts. ly predetermine the limit of movement thereof, toward the sizing ring 18, or,in other words, to adjustably predetermine the operative normal initial spaced. position of the devices relative to the sizing ring 18 around which the operative gripping elements thereof are disposed. The means for effecting then ovement and adjustment of said gripping an d stretching devices comprises a lever means 37, pivotally connected at the forward end thereof by link 38 to an adjustable fulcrum means to be subse'quentlv described. bridge plate 9 are fulcrum knuckles 39 upon which is pivotally suppor ed a foot treadle frame 40 having at its forward end a treadle Fixed on said plate 41. The rearward end of said foot treadle frame 40 is provided with counterbalancing weight 42, to bias said treadle frame 40 to a normal initial position, as determined by a stop means cooperative therewith. Said stop means may consist in a threaded post 43 upstanding from said bridge plate 9, and passing through a perforate cross-plate 44 carried by the treadle frame. Adjustably threaded on said post 43 is a stopwheel 45 which determines the operative position of a stop bufier 46, the latter being preferably made of rubber or other resilient and sound deadening material. The rearward end of said treadle frame 40 is operatively connected by transmission linkage 47 to the rearward end of said lever means 37. lever means 37 includes a cross-head slidable on said central post or column 11, and connected between said lever means and hub 31 is transmission linkage 48. The adjustable fulcrum means for the lever means 37 comprises a suitably fixed and supported pivot block 49 on which is pivoted an adjusting lever 50,- to the inner end of which is pivotally connected the link 38. The outer end of said adjusting lever 50 is provided, in swiveled connection therewith, with a nut-piece 51. Rotatably mounted in a swivel bearing 52, supported by a fixed bracket 53, is an adjusting screw 54 having a threaded connection with said nut-piece 51. Fixed on said adjusting screw 54 is a hand wheel 55 for turning the same. To adjustably predetermine the normal initial spaced relation of the gripping devices around the sizing ring 18 on the steaming chamber 14, the adjusting screw 54 is turned to swing the inner end of the adjusting lever 50 up or down, as the case may be. When the lever 50 is swung downward, it lowers the connected end of the lever means 37, without disturbing its operative connections with the normally raised and stopped foot treadle frame 40, thus drawing down the linkage 48 to lower the normal initial position of the hub 31, and thus adjusting the gripping devices toward or closer to the sizing ring 18; but when the lever 50 is swung upward, it raises the connected end of the lever means 37, thus in turn raising the hub 31 to thereby space the gripping devices the desired initial distance away from the sizing ring. These initial adjustments are utilized, to adapt the gripping devices for engagement with hat'bodies of various sizes, and especially with hat bodies having brims of various widths. i

The means for engaging and disengaging the gripping aws 29 and 36 at will comprises the following mechanism. Connected with the sides of the lift ring 33 are lift bars 56, which are preferably disposed at the outer sides of the side frames 5, and the lower ends of which are engaged by anchor links 57 pivoted on the said side frames 5. Fulcrumed 'on-the side frames 5 are actuating levers 58 having their inner arms 58 pivotally conlever 58 at one side of the machine is provided, in suspended relation to and from its outer arm 58", with a weight 59 to counterbalance the weight of said lift ring 33. The outer arm 58 of the actuating lever 58 located at the opposite side of the machine is connected by an adjustable connecting link means 60 with an actuating eccentric 61 fixed on a rock-shaft 62 journaled in and between the side frames 5. Said actuating eccentric 61 is'provided with a lever handle 63 for operating the same, and connected with said eccentric 61 and lever handle 63 are stop lugs 64 and 65, which may at proper times be respectively brought into cooperative engagement with fixed stops 66 and 67 carried by a supporting bracket 68 which is fixed to a slde frame 5 adjacent to said eccentric and its lever handle. To disengage the gripping jaws 29 and 36, the lever handle 63 is swung inwardly to turn the eccentric 61 in the direction of the arrow a in Fig. 2 until the stop lug64 engages the fixed stop 66. This motion of the eccentric 61 is transmitted through the link means 60 to the connected actuating lever 58, whereby the outer arm 58 of the same is swung downward and its inner arm 58 is swung upward. "The up ward motion of the inner arm 58"is transmitted to the lift bars 56, and through the latter to the lift ring 33, whereby the latter is moved to a raised position. The upward movement of said lift ring 33 causes the clamp-bars 35 to rise slidingly through the guide loops or sleeves 30 of the crank arms which carry the fiXed gripping jaws 29, thereby raising or separating the movable gripping jaw 36 from the latter. 7 The movement of the eccentric 61, as above described, swings the link means 60 past the dead center provided by the axis of rotation of'the rock shaft 62, and consequently when the stops 64 and 66 engage the parts will be selfretained in gripping aw releasing or opening position.

Assuming that a sizing ring 18 of fitting size has been mounted in connection with the steaming chamber and support 14, and the gripping jaws 2936 opened in the manner described. aselected hat-body H, within which it is desired to insert a shaping hatblock B, may be mounted in the machine by inserting the crown portion thereof through the sizing ring 18, and then laying over the brim portion thereof upon the gripping jaws 29, and beneath the raised gripping jaws 36. VVhe-n the hat body H is thus mounted, the eccentric 61 is turned in the opposite direction until the stop engages the stop 67.

This motion of the eccentric is transmitted me ink means on to the connected actuating lever 58. to swing down the inner arm 58- t-hereof, thus imparting a downward movement to the lift ring'33, whereby the clamp-bars 35 arepulled down to 'lower the gripping jaws 36into gripping positionso that thebrimofthe hat body 'H' is firmly and securely clamped by and between said grippingjaws 29 and 36. j r i The hat body having been thus mounted in the machine, a hat-block -B is-overlaid upon the upwardly presented open side ofthc'hatbody, so that pressure maybe applied'thereto to thrust the same downwardly into the crown portion of said hat body, to thus'draw the latter tightly and fully over and'about'the hat block. The means for applying inserting pressure to the hat block B comprises the following arrangement. i i v The side frames5 are provided, at their rearward upper ends, with upwardly'ofi-set bearing brackets 69, in and between which is j ournaled a transverse fulcrum or rock-shaft 70. Fixed on said rook-shaft issa manipu-' latable lever-frame 71,- havingrearwardly through the side bars 71 and space 73 is a clamping bolt 74. The reference character 7 5 indicates a presser head'having an. up standingshank76 bifurcated atits free end to straddle said clampingbolt 74 when said shank is inserted upwardly through the space 7 3 and between the side bars '71. By tightening the clamping bolt '74 the side bars 71 are brought into strong frictional engagement withtlie shank 76, whereby the presser head 75 is carried by and positioned beneath I the lever-frame 71 so as to be capable ofbeing moved into downwardly pressing en'- gagement with the hat block B, when the lever-frame is manually swung downward The lever frame 71 is 'provi-dedwitha handle 77 at its forward free end'for the convenience of the operator in manipulating the same. If desired, a stop 78 may be" adjustably mounted at the forward end'of the machine'to limit the downward movement of w the lever-frame 71. 'Piv'oted 'on said lever frame 71 adjacent to the handle 77 is a bellcrank lever-79, one arm of which isconnected by a flexible pull-cord 'or'the' like '80 with the trip-lever 23 valve 22. I a

To press the hat blockB down into the hat body I-Lwhil'e at the same timedrawing-the latter snugly and smoothly about. the hat block, the operator proceeds'as follows:'1 T The lever-frame 71 is lowered to-bring the ofthe s eam control M its presser head down upon the top of the hat block, whereupon the operator exerts a strong steady downward pressure on the latter by utilizing the leverage of said leverframe. While thus exerting downward pressure on the hat block, the operator at the same devices, is drawn in all directions over the sizing ring 18, so as to thus stretch and pull the hat body toward and about the downwardly pressed hat block, until the latter is firmly settled within the former. To aid the operation of this and pulling the hat body upon and around the hat-block, the hat body'may be softened to the extent or degree necessary by the use of steam, which is admitted through the nozzle 20 into the steaming chamber 14 to surround and permeate the hat body crown. The amount and time of application of the steam is entirely within the control of the operator, since by pressure of the thumb upon the bell-crank lever 79 the steam control valve 22 may be opened from time to time, as the operative movement of the bellcra-nk lever is transmitted through the pull cord 80 to the steam valve trip lever 23. The softening of the hat body by the applied steam enables the stretching, pulling and block inserting operations to be quickly carried on.

\Vhile I have shown the gripping and stretching devices closely spaced about the steaming chamber 14 so as to provide a maximum number thereof, it will be understood that I may employ fewer gripping and stretching devices if desiredv As various changes could be made in the above described constructions and many widely difierent embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I cla1m:-- I V In a machine of the kind described, means for supporting a hat-body with the crown portion inverted-and subject to the insertion of a hat-block therein, a sizing ring interchangeably mounted on said supporting means overwhich the brim portions of the hat-body may extend, a plurality of gripping and stretching elements radially disposed about said supporting means to engage the brim portions of the hat-body, means for oscillating said gripping and stretching elements relative to said supporting means, a lever frame above said supporting means and pivoted for movement toward the same, a presser head carried by said leverframe to engage and exert inserting pressure upon a hat-block applied to said hat-body, means related to said supporting means for discharging steam about the supported hatbody, a steam supply pipe for said discharging means including a control valve, and manually actuatable means connected with said lever frame for operating said control valve at will.

2. In a machine of the kind described, means for supporting a hat body with the crown portion inverted and subject to the insertion of a hat-block therein, manipulatable means for applying inserting pressure to the hat-block, and means engageable with the brim portions of the hat-body for pulling and stretching the latter during the entering movement of the hat-block, said latter means comprising a plurality of bell-crank levers, pivoted in radial arrangement about said supporting means, a vertically movable slide hub with which the lower arms of said bellcrank lovers are engaged, the upper arms of said bell-crank levers having fixed gripping jaws, a plurality of clamp-bars oscillatable with but slidably related to the upper arms of said bell-crank levers and having gripping jaws to cooperate with said fixed gripping jaws of the latter, means for slidingly moving said clamp-bars to engage and disengage the gripping jaws thereof relative to said fixed gripping jaws, and a power lever mechanism to actuate said slide hub to in turn oscillate ion control valve, and means for manually operating said control valve at will carried by said hat-block inserting means.

3. In a ,machine of the kind described, means for supporting a hat-body with the crown portion inverted and subject to the 5 insertion of a hat-block therein, a sizing ring interchangeably mounted on said supporting means over which the brim portions of the hat body may extend, a lever frame above said supporting means and pivoted for movement toward the same, a presser head carried by said lever-frame to engage and exert insert ing pressure upon a hat-block applied to said hat body, and means engageable with the brim portions of the hat body for pulling and stretching the latter during the entering movement of the hat-block, said latter means comprising a plurality of bell-crank levers pivoted in radial arrangement about said supporting means, a vertically movable slide hub with which the lower arms of said bellcrank levers are engaged, the upper arms of said bell-crank levers having fixed gripping jaws, a plurality of clamp-bars oscill atable with but slidably related to the upper arms of said bell-crank levers and having gripping jaws to cooperate with said fixed gripping jaws of the latter, means for slidingly moving said clamp-bars to engage and disengage the gripping jaws thereof relative to said fixed gripping aws, and a power lever mechanism to actuate said slide hub to in turn oscillate said bell-crank levers, means related to said supporting means for discharging steam about the supported hat body, a steam supply pipe for said discharging means including a control Valve, and manually actuatable means for operating said control valve at will carried by said lever frame.

4. In a machine of the kind described, means for supporting a hat-body with the crown portion inverted and subject to the insertion of a hat-blocktherein, a sizing ring interchangeably mounted on said supporting means over which the brim portions of the hat-body may extend, a plurality of gripping and stretching elements radially disposed about said supporting means to engage the brim portions of the hat body, means for oscillating said gripping and stretching elements relative to said supporting means, a lever frame above said supporting means and pivoted for movement toward thesame, and a presser head carried by said lever-frame to engage and exert inserting pressure upon a hat-block applied to said hat-body, means related to said supporting means for discharging steam about the supported hat-body, a steam supply pipe for said discharging means, a control valve having a trip lever connected in said supply pipe, and manually actuatable means connected with said lever frame for operating said control valve trip lever at will.

In testimony, that I claim the invention set forth above I have hereunto set my hand this 16th day of February, 1929.

RUDOLPH G. MULLER. 

